The Gr8 Keeper Deb8

[Cypry]

I have to say the club have handled this very badly indeed....there are so many different stories coming from different sources..

Brian gave a mixed message in his post match interview with Dellor, initially indicating he'd made a tactical decision, then suggesting that the decision was down to Luke Anthony and that Feds is carrying an injury...

McCarthy has been allowed to talk to the press and directly contradict the managers message about an injury....

Who knows what Feds was told about the decision to drop him?

It all seems like an almighty cock-up...

Certainly I suspect that the situation is something along the lines that Feds has been carrying an injury all season so far (as evidenced by the strapping), which has neither improved, or got worse....
Perhaps Brian has made a "tactical" decision that Feds would be better off getting the injury sorted once and for all (as we're told is the case with Roberts), and therefore wanted to rest him until the situation improves....
However, (if the rumours are true that he refused to sit on the bench) if Brian has cited the injury as the reason to drop him, but then wanted him on the bench, that doesn't necessarily tally.....how can you say that a player is too injured to start, but then expect him to sit on the bench?

If Feds has played the three games so far with the same injury, then I can understand why he might be aggrieved if it's now being used "conveniently" to hand the shirt to McCarthy...I'm not defending his public criticism of that, but he certainly has passion and I can completely understand why he would be pissed off (let's face it, if McCarthy performs well, Feds could well struggle to regain the shirt - of course he'll be upset).

As far as performances go, I'm not convinced that on Sundays evidence McCarthy offers any better an option than Feds as it stands - he almost certainly has the "potential" to be a better keeper than Feds, but what we need at the moment is a safe pair of hands, not someone who could come good with a run in the team....

On Sunday McCarthy was very lucky indeed that his mistakes didn't cost us at least one, possibly two more goals - yes he made a couple of good saves (but then so has Feds in all three games so far), but his distribution was awful, significantly worse than Feds. In fact, having been to every match so far this season, the best performance in goal was by Taylor in the U21 game against West Brom - excellent distribution and some fantastic saves. You could easily make an argument that he should be starting ahead of both Feds and McCarthy on that basis....

I do wonder how much this "kicked off" behind the scenes and unsettled the team before Sundays match. Is it just possible that whatever had been going on in the dressing room had an effect on the performance of the team as a whole and that's why we saw such a below par performance, particularly in the first half?

Personally I think the worst part of this has been the way in which Brian and the club have handled the situation. I understand Feds being upset, he shouldn't have made his feelings public, that was wrong, but I just hope everyone can put the episode behind them - not McD's finest hour!!!

[leon]

McDermott never said he was left out because of the injury though did he?

Yep - on BBCRB he said Federici had an injury and the physio had advised he didn't play until it was resolved so as to avoid further/later damage. The intimation (that i took - it wasn't explicitly stated as such) was that he could have played but might have made things worse so they were giving it a chance to heal properly.

and that might be part of the explanation...I know football fans struggle to understand that things usually happen for a combination of reasons. But his thinking is probably he's not 100% and his form hasn't been 100% - it's too much of a risk.

Of course Federici isnt happy, tough sh1t.

[HoneyRoastHoax]

[leon]

of course it was. McCarthy should never had let Defoe rob him of the ball and run past the rest of the defence, and he especially shouldn't have made Harte so twatting slow

[pea]

Didn't see Federici kicking off when McCarthy was dropped after losing one game in his first nine league appearances for us Was an excellent keeper for us last season but it will always be his mindset that holds him back, and he's proved it again with this episode. I'm glad for McCarthy who has patiently waited for this and been very humble and dignified when he's not been given the chances he's deserved in the past, for Reading and Britain.

[floyd__streete]

So we had the outburst last year in the media that he wanted a move, a public sulk on his Instagram about his supposed injury and now his dopey missis speaking out about it. The club has looked after Federici, took a punt on a nobody from down-under and stood by him after the numerous mistakes he made in his early years. Now we are in the Greed League every single mistake could cost us millions. We have a young English keeper desperate to play, who didn’t sulk when he himself was dropped in favour of Federici and we also have experienced back-up in Taylor.

I genuinely hope we never see Federici in a Reading shirt again. No wonder everyone hates Australians, conceited twats.

[E. Andrew]

Someone needs to walk him through PR basics. It's embarrassing.

[Royal Lady]

I sent Michaela a tweet, but she's not responded!

[Alexander Litvinenko]

I sent Michaela a tweet, but she's not responded!

Think she's deleted the account!

[Royal Lady]

I HATE it when players like Federici think they have a god-given right to play, just because they did their job the previous season! I've not called for him to be dropped - many fans didn't - though it was a bit of a worry that he seemed to have hit a poor run of form so early on in the season - but FFS, no one player is bigger than the club - no other club wanted him when he touted himself - so he's let himself down very badly with all this. A quick form of apology via his girlfriend or on this instagram thing, or whatever, would have been the best bet - some excuse like his girlfriend reacted badly when she saw how upset he was at being dropped, but it should not have been broadcast on social media and he'll be working hard to regain the keeper's jersey or some such would have been preferable.


*Waves* Hi Merv btw

[Hoop Blah]

As far as performances go, I'm not convinced that on Sundays evidence McCarthy offers any better an option than Feds as it stands - he almost certainly has the "potential" to be a better keeper than Feds, but what we need at the moment is a safe pair of hands, not someone who could come good with a run in the team....

McCarthy looked a little nervous and unsure on his home debut in the Championship and he kicked on to play well for the rest of his spell in the side. The same with his distribution in those first few games, especially his kicking!

I think he'll come good, but the Premier League, with it's wall to wall coverage and all angles analysis, isn't going to be the most gentle learning ground for him.

I do wonder how much this "kicked off" behind the scenes and unsettled the team before Sundays match. Is it just possible that whatever had been going on in the dressing room had an effect on the performance of the team as a whole and that's why we saw such a below par performance, particularly in the first half?

I can imagine it was a distraction for the players on Saturday and probably Sunday morning but it really shouldn't have any real bearing on their mental readiness for qhat was quite a big game (and, despite Spurs talents, a winable one too).

Personally I think the worst part of this has been the way in which Brian and the club have handled the situation. I understand Feds being upset, he shouldn't have made his feelings public, that was wrong, but I just hope everyone can put the episode behind them - not McD's finest hour!!!

It could be a test of McDermotts metal here. His success here has been built on his relationship with the players and, it appears, the mutal trust they have for each other. He made a comment on the TV (I think in the build up to the Spurs game) about how he used to be confrontational. Perhaps his mellowing with age has meant he now avoids the confrontation a little too much and he's tried to be too diplomatic on this one.

[Ian Royal]

McDermott never said he was left out because of the injury though did he?

Yep - on BBCRB he said Federici had an injury and the physio had advised he didn't play until it was resolved so as to avoid further/later damage. The intimation (that i took - it wasn't explicitly stated as such) was that he could have played but might have made things worse so they were giving it a chance to heal properly.

Personally, I'd rather ignore conspiracy theories and go with the simplest most honest explanation.

Federici was injured in the summer, so he didn't have much pre-season.
Federici had some strapping in the first few games and did look like something might be troubling him with one or two of his mistakes.
Federici dropped at least one howler in every competitive game he's played this season.
Federici was withdrawn from the Aussie squad injured.
McDermott said the physio had recommended Feds didn't play.

For me that means McDermott and the physio have decided that whilst Fed could play, the injury is affecting his game and it's best to keep him out the team until that's fully sorted. Federici obviously thinks it's not affecting him and he can play through it. McDermott probably agreed to start with, but the errors have influenced his decision.

[TBM]

It's funny how what Feds did last season is dismissed but what McCarthy did two seasons ago is seen as a relevant reason why he should be in the team.

Yes Feds had a great season last year BUT has been shite so far this season with 3 mistakes in 3 games.

McCarthy hasn't done anything wrong in any game he's played in - so of course we are going to base it on his form from a couple of seasons back as thats when we saw him last.

If McCarthy fcuks up over the next couple of games then i can see Taylor getting a chance......its no different to an outfield player playing crap, so why should a keeper be protected?!

[Big Foot]

We're having a party when Fedders leaves, we're having a party when Fedders leaves

[rob the royal]

Shaun Cummings gets dropped all the time...

[RoyalBlue]

It's funny how what Feds did last season is dismissed but what McCarthy did two seasons ago is seen as a relevant reason why he should be in the team.

I think the debate has moved on from who should be playing.

It's now about who's committed to the team vs. who's committed to themselves.

If that is the case then it's the easiest question in the world to answer. When it comes to their professional careers players will always be committed to themselves and understandably so. Of course there are many times when the interests of the team and the player are common and therefore the player is completely committed to the team but, when forced to make the choice, the players have to look after number one.

[RoyalBlue]

Shaun Cummings gets dropped all the time...

Any keeper will tell you its a very different situation. Shaun Cummings still gets on the bench with a reasonable chance of playing in at least some of the game. He is also in contention for more than one position in the team. A keeper has to sit there feeling guilty for hoping that their fellow keeper either gets injured or sent off so that he can come on as a sub. He knows he is extremely unlikely to get brought on in any other circumstance.

[Alexander Litvinenko]

It's funny how what Feds did last season is dismissed but what McCarthy did two seasons ago is seen as a relevant reason why he should be in the team.

I think the debate has moved on from who should be playing.

It's now about who's committed to the team vs. who's committed to themselves.

If that is the case then it's the easiest question in the world to answer. When it comes to their professional careers players will always be committed to themselves and understandably so. Of course there are many times when the interests of the team and the player are common and therefore the player is completely committed to the team but, when forced to make the choice, the players have to look after number one.

That's fair enough. But if they are doing that, the one accusation that they shouldn't be using (unless they want to come across as a whinging hypocrite) is "no loyalty" ....

[rob the royal]

Shaun Cummings gets dropped all the time...

Any keeper will tell you its a very different situation. Shaun Cummings still gets on the bench with a reasonable chance of playing in at least some of the game. He is also in contention for more than one position in the team. A keeper has to sit there feeling guilty for hoping that their fellow keeper either gets injured or sent off so that he can come on as a sub. He knows he is extremely unlikely to get brought on in any other circumstance.

true

[stickywhisky]

I think he was a bit unlucky to be dropped, he had a couple of bad games, but he was outstanding last season (albeit against lower lever oposition) and should have been given at least 2 more games to shake off the bad form.
I am disappointed by his reaction though, but im sure he will play again before xmas and prove his doubters wrong.